A Highschool Tale
by KapookieVaniila
Summary: AU Imagine this! Instead of going on the great quest to restore the two seperate worlds, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, Lloyd Irving goes to...high school? Some twisted up spoilers ColettexLloydxSheena and much more romance. Rating may go up. Chapter Three up!
1. First Day?

Umm

**Umm... okay, so I'm a rookie author here, so please do not flame me if you don't like the story. XP**

**I appreciate reviews and any suggestions for the story. Also, thanks goes to my best friend Sarah, who stayed up, read, and edited everything for me!**

**So, here it is! Disclaimer: I wish I owned it but unfortunately, I do not own anything... **

* * *

First Day??

The clock read 7:00 a.m. but the occupant of the room was not aware of it. Lloyd Irving was too busy dreaming of motorcycles and pork buns to administer mercy to his pained ears by turning off the blaring alarm clock. Only when the gentle breeze shot a whiff of bacon and egg up his nostril did the sleepy seventeen-year-old stir. He rose out of bed like a mummy, his arms outstretched as he moaned exaggeratedly, and groped around for his outfit.

The scent of breakfast had him in a trance as he wiggled into his usual red jacket and black overalls. With his eyes still shut, he tousled his messy brown hair and spiked his bangs up to allow his forehead some space exposure to sunlight. Lloyd cracked open his eyes to survey his appearance. Satisfied with his exterior, he staggered down the stairs of his house, clutching onto the brown railing. He shuffled noisily past his small living room and slipped into the warm kitchen.

The kitchen floor was littered with what appeared to be bits of metal scattered all around. The small debris traced back to the dwarf standing next to the hot open fireplace. He looked up from his work and smiled at the sight of his groggy, adopted, human son.

"Good morning, Lloyd," he said cheerily. A sleepy grunt and a wave was all the drowsy wave was all that his son could suffice. Dirk Irving chuckled at the response and pointed to the small dining table on the other end of the kitchen.

"There it is. Go get it before ya pass out," he smirked. The hungry Lloyd complied without a sound and sat down to destroy his breakfast plate. Dirk returned his attention to the sword he was constructing and the meal went in silence albeit the clanking of metal on metal and the noise of eggs being shoveled into a mouth. It broke as Dirk let out a soft satisfied grunt and set down him tools. He walked over to the table and plopped himself down in the chair across from his hungry son and started on his plate of food.

"Best be hurrying, Lloyd it's already 8:00. I always tell ya: Dwarven Vow #44, the early dwarf gets the ore!" Dirk said gruffly as he poured himself a cup of milk. Lloyd's fork stopped halfway from his mouth as he gave the dwarf a confused glance.

"Be early for what?" he inquired.

"Don't tell me ya clean forgot! Don't ya remember? Today is your first day of school!" Dirk exclaimed with disbelief.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Lloyd cried out. He made a mad dash for the stairs as Dirk sighed.

"It amazes me how stupid that boy is…,"he said as he looked up the staircase. "I'm going to the bathroom so I'll leave your lunch on the counter," he yelled. Then, Dirk hurriedly ran into the bathroom. _Oh Martel… The milk must have been spoiled, _he assumed as he slammed the door shut, sealing him and the bomb to come inside the little room.

Lloyd browsed his room in a total frenzy as he dug out a backpack from his closet and threw pencils (along with other essentials) into it. He ran back down the stairs into the empty kitchen and looked for his lunch. There were actually two brown paper bags sitting on the counter. Lloyd stopped for a moment in order to decipher which one was his. The clock on the wall shrieked that he was already late so he grabbed the bag on the right thinking, _Dwarven Vow# 23, choose what is "right" and it makes you bright! _

"Bye, dad! See you when I get home!" and with that, Lloyd was out the door…

* * *

The classroom of 4-A was noisy with chatter. Students ran about the room as paper planes and spitballs whizzed through the air. One particularly large spitball flew towards the door in the front and conveniently landed on the principal's face as the door slid open. The class immediately fell silent and ran back to their seats as they watched their cherubic principal and a stranger walk into the classroom.

"Class… I know it's your first day back and the summer fever may still be with you but might I remind you that you are in school and you are to behave like young women and men. As a class of seniors, I have high expectations from this class," the principal said rather pompously, "Now, unfortunately your regular homeroom teacher has run into some… ah… personal troubles that are to remain private and he will be absent from the school for quite a while." The class let out a mighty roar of happiness; for the absence of their terrible homeroom teacher would make their senior year rather enjoyable.

"SILENCE!" the principal cried out with a mix of fury and desperation, "I will not tolerate bad behavior!" He waited for the students to focus their attention on him before speaking. "Good. Now I would like to introduce you to your new homeroom teacher, Professor Aurion. We should be grateful as he agreed to fill the post on such short notice. Show him all respect and do not disgrace the name of this school," he chided with a huff. "Professor, anything you would like to say?"

The tall stranger walked forward and surveyed the room with his brown eyes locked in a cool gaze. He stood there, quite scary and intimidating, in his purple cloak and his messy auburn hair that stuck up in different direction. His bangs covered his left eye. The man crossed his arm in a rather confident manner and addressed the class, "Good morning, students. As you have heard, I will be substituting for your teacher. Please do not give me a hard time, as I will administer corporal punishment upon you. I promise you that none of you will survive my judgment… Now will the student trying to sneak in from the back please state his name?"

The entire class turned to the back of their classroom in one fluid motion to stare at the culprit. Lloyd stood near the door blushing as he stared up at the face of the substitute. Oddly, he seemed very familiar…but he couldn't seem to figure out why…

"Your name?" the man asked again. Lloyd snapped out of his daze and mustered up a scowl.

"Who are you to ask for my name?" he retorted.

"Lloyd Irving! You will not show disrespect to the new substitute! I will see you in my office afterschool, young man," the principal rebuked but Professor Aurion hardly took notice of it.

"Your name is Lloyd?" he asked quietly, almost disbelievingly. His face showed the slightest sign of surprise and then melted back into the cool expressionless face he had a moment before as Lloyd took a seat in the back of the room. He seemed to be oblivious to the interrogations of the new teacher. The class turned back to the front of the room in order to all Lloyd to save the bit of dignity he had left. The remainder of the class flew by uneventfully as they covered roll call and schedules. Lloyd slept through all of it uninterrupted. His unconscious mind wandered to the new teacher and his mother… Did they have something in common?

* * *

Lloyd had slept through all of his morning classes. It was a miracle that the teachers did not notice his unconscious state. However, his morning nap was over before the lunch bell rang. After all, his main thoughts were always connected to his stomach. Lloyd had sauntered out of the classroom in order to eat his lunch in the cafeteria, away from the zoo of a classroom he was assigned to. The spicy scent of curry beckoned him closer to the doors of the mess hall as he shuffled lazily down the hall. _Eh…Maybe I could just buy food instead of eating what dad packed me…_, Lloyd thought to himself, Mmmmm..._Cuuurrry…I can't wait t-... _

His thoughts were cut short as he was tackled to the ground. His body braced for the impact and wrapped its arms around instinctively around whatever had just rammed him. The pain surged down his spine as he groaned in pain. It didn't help that the floor was as cold as ice.

"Oh Martel! I'm so sorry, Lloyd…," a soft, worried voice cried out, "Did I hurt you?" Lloyd opened his eyes and his brown eyes met warm sky-blue eyes. Colette Brunel was draped over his body, her head floating above his chest as she stared into his face with a concerned look. Her blonde hair framed her fair-skinned face as her long blonde hair flowed down her back. Lloyd felt his face go red from the proximity between him and Colette and also due to the fact that every pair of eyes in this hallway was now glued to the two of them.

"Umm…. Colette… Do you mind… uh…," he mumbled, still blushing furiously.

"What is it Lloyd," Colette asked with a coy smile. Then she looked down and realized what she was sprawled across and muttered an embarrassed, "Oh…." She hurriedly lifted herself up from the ground and offered a hand to Lloyd. He took it and she pulled as she stammered, "Oh… I'm so sorry! I didn't… Well… I didn't realize I was on top of you like that… I…Sorry!"

Lloyd cleared his throat and waved a hand to dismiss her rain of apologies. It was just like Colette to be a klutz. He let a small smile slide onto his face, as he said, "No problem Colette. I was just going to go to the cafeteria to look for you and Genis, but I guess it's good you ran into me. By the way, why were you running?"

"Well… I had to go and see the Principal about my campaign for Sylvarant High's new student body president," Colette stated happily, " I have to go right now so please save me a seat!"

"Should I go with you?"

"No, no. I'm okay! Genis is probably waiting for you! Go, I'll be fine!"

Lloyd gave Colette one last look before nodding. Then he said, "Alright, you be careful now. And don't take too long, they're serving curry." Colette giggled and ran off in the opposite direction as Lloyd watched her retreating form. He turned and headed for the cafeteria.

Once there, Lloyd immediately spotted his best friend Genis, the half elf, sitting at their usual table. Although his short white-haired friend was only twelve, he was in the same grade and class as Colette due to his incredible intelligence. It wasn't that unexpected though, however. His sister (and homeroom teacher), Raine Sage, was also a prodigy and had become a teacher at the age of 16. As soon as Genis saw his friend walking towards the table, he got up in order to get on line.

"Lloyd, watch the table," he said bluntly and left to order. Lloyd nodded and sat down. He looked about the lunchroom and smiled. The noises of excited chatter, summer stories being swapped and students fooling around with one another we let off a really satisfying feeling after a summer of doing nothing but sleeping. He opened up his brown paper bag lunch, hoping that the sandwich inside had been maimed during the mauling by Colette moments before. To his surprise, they were pills! _Dad's pills! He needs these now! _Lloyd thought desperately. His father had a bad case of DAGS or Dwarf Above Ground Syndrome in which a dwarf becomes so nostalgic that he will pound anything that moves or speaks with a pickax. It was somewhat like Dwarven PMS for it comes once a month and today was that time for Dirk. That's why he had designed these pills in order to stop him from disfiguring the next living thing that crossed his path. Lloyd panicked at the thought of Dirk attacking one of the construction workers at the construction site he worked at as a part time job.

There was only one thing to do… And that was to leave school to give Dirk the pills. Lloyd ran out the room reluctantly, the scent of curry still taunting him, and flew through the school.

**So yeah... There's the first Chapter.**

**I'm sorry if there were any OCC moments but I'm trying to incorporate the original game storyline with my own storyline.**

**Also, I'll take any pairing suggestions. The second chapter is on its way very soon so please check up frequently!!**


	2. The Academy

**Soo... Here's chapter two! Thank you guys all soooo much for those encouraging reveiws! You really know how to make a person smile! XP**

**Thank you for waiting and again thanks to my editor, Samimo! Although she says she doesn't do much, she stays up real late just to help me get this up!**

**Couldn't ask for a better best friend and/or editor! Well enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I had own this game, which I do not, I would make Gesea a canon pairing! MUHAHAHA!**

* * *

Sheena Fujibayashi stared longingly out the classroom window

Sheena Fujibayashi stared longingly out the classroom window. She sighed as the gentle breeze whispered delicately to the cherry blossom tree that stood so closely. _I wonder if I can climb down the branches and sneak off school grounds…Hehe… It's not like I'll get caught_, she thought. A small grin was visible from behind her brown eyes, though her expression didn't show it. She wouldn't miss much anyway, seeing as this was only Home Economics.

"Ms. Fujibayashi…" a stern voice called out. Sheena snapped out of her daydream and looked up timidly at the man that stood next to her table. She frantically pushed her black bangs out of her face and giggled nervously.

"Heh… Mr. Bryant… I was just umm…. Well…," she stammered, "I'll… pay attention sir…sorry." The muscular blue-haired teacher, Regal Bryant, stood with a slight hint of amusement in his eyes. He gazed at her sternly and walked away. Sheena sighed and pushed past her chatting group members to stir the now slightly burned soup. Her mind wandered off again and everything around her seemed to fade out. She was walking in the dark forest that separated her from someone. Someone was calling to her… a voice that made her feel warm inside. A figure strolled toward her with it's arms outstretched. She couldn't see the face but the voice called out to her. "Sheena…" it said, "Sheena… Take my hand, Sheena… Shee-,"

"Sheena Fujibayashi, Zelos Wilder, Presea Combatir and Mr. Bryant, you are wanted in the Headmaster's office," the mechanical voice of the intercom reported. Sheena jerked in surprise and hit the pot's handle, resulting in howls and screams from her group members. She blushed at her clumsiness as she bombarded the other students with a rainfall of apologies. She quickly threw some towels at them and fled from the classroom followed by a chuckling Regal.  
"Nice going in there," he sneered discreetly. All Sheena could do was give him a rather ugly scowl, speed up considerably and create maximum distance between the two.

"Arrgh! This is so _boring_ headmaster!" a whiny voice emitted from the long, red-haired youth that strutted about the room, "I am _sooo_ not putting up with this crap! If I keep standing still, the dust will settle on my perfect skin and cause pimples! What will I do!? My beautiful face; it can't be flawed…"

"Settle down, Zelos," the headmaster sighed, "I'm sure the others will be here soon…"  
Zelos stopped his pacing and rushed up to the front of the headmaster's desk, leaning his face quite close to the man.

"Old man… are you going to take responsibility when all my hunnies tell me I look hideous?!" he whispered dangerously, with his eyes opened just a bit too widely. The headmaster whacked Zelos on the head and watched him sob exaggeratedly aloud. Just then, the door to the office swung open and three people stepped in.

"Ah, Sheena and Regal please, come in," the headmaster said rather gratefully, "You too, Presea." He nodded towards the young, quiet girl. She looked down at the floor and shuffled toward one of the chairs close by, her pink pigtails waving slowly back and forth from the breeze that lazily passed through the room. The headmaster looked up to see that Regal, and Zelos (who had finally stopped sobbing) had made themselves comfortable on the soft armchairs; but the school girl was still standing, with her eyes dangerous and glued to the red head.

"What is _he_ doing here?" she spat, more of a demand than a question.

"I will explain once you take a seat Ms. Fujibayashi. Please make yourself comfortable," the headmaster stated. He watched as the girl sank slowly down into the armchair far to the right; without taking her eyes off of Zelos. Well… actually, her eyes looked more like daggers at that point, ready to stab him at any given moment. Zelos turned around to smile meekly at her, as if to send her a message that this meeting wasn't his idea.

"Sheena… my hunny," he tested, still wearing his fake grin, "Have you been well?"

"Shut up, you jerk." was all that she could suffice without completely losing it.

"Aw… Now that was mean…and totally uncalled for," Zelos chuckled.

"Why in the name of Martel are you laughing? You think it was funny that you left me standing there, alone and afraid? You think it's funny that I have to be sitting in the same room as you right now? Well let me rip that little grin right off your face! That way, no one will have to listen to you spitting your lies everywhere you go!" Sheena retorted. Zelos looked down to hide his face and turned back around to face the headmaster, in an almost hurt way. This only infuriated Sheena more but she held her tongue after seeing the headmaster's disapproving gaze.

"Let's leave personal matters until after this small meeting," he said, "Now, the reason why I called the four of you down here to my office was to inform you of a mission." There was silence in the room as all four heads stared at the old man. He continued, "As you know, the Tethe'alla Academy is funded by a big organization we call Cruxis. They supply us with the money for this building, our classes, extracurricular activities and even the air conditioning in the teacher's lounge."

"Whoa, whoa…wait! So you mean to say that while we suffer from heat exposure during the long and tiring summer, you guys have air conditioning to dry your sweat in the teacher's lounge? You cheap old man!" Zelos cried out. Regal and the headmaster looked at each other rather guiltily and coughed.

"That's beside the point Zelos," Regal grumbled, trying to switch the conversation back to its original topic. "As you were saying, Headmaster…"

"Yes… Thank you, Mr. Bryant. Well, without Cruxis's funding, we wouldn't have enough money to give our students the opportunity of a proper education or the privileges of our boarding facilities."

"Affirmative. All variables add up to complete depletion of school budget. Only 30 would be recovered from saving annual tuitions. If the source of funding is absent or decreased in amount, school amenities will cease to exist," a quiet voice stated. The others stared for a moment at the young girl who was looking down at her boots; her pigtails sticking straight up behind her.

"Um… Yes, it's exactly as she has said. Thank you Ms. Combatir…," the headmaster replied.

"So, what's the point of this "mission" then? Our school ranks high enough for each annual test and we've got many talented students. You'll have bragging rights for fifty years! Why would they want to cut funding or even decrease the amount that they give us already?" Sheena inquired.

The headmaster sighed and closed his eyes, resting his forehead on his fingertips. He opened them as he spoke, "There is, in fact, a reason why they may withhold their money from this school. You see, our Academy co-exists with another high school. A…_Public _one. It's known as Sylvarant High, and I'm sure none of you have ever seen it before. We're separated by a deep, dark forest and those rascal Desians protect it on both sides. This Sylvarant High School is planning to reverse the money flow and have Cruxis funding them instead. However, I am pretty sure that no Sylarantian knows about the existence of our Academy, and it should be kept that way."

"So, what is it that you want us to do? Sabotage the school so that _they_ won't win the funding?" asked Zelos.

The headmaster shook his head, "No, you will not sabotage the school. The only thing

you will sabotage is one student and her dreams. Sylvarant is planning to use a girl in order to win over the funding. I do not know her name nor who she is. All I know is that they have dubbed her as the 'Chosen.' If she is to succeed in the campaign, it is inevitable that our school will end. The flow of endowment will slowly deplete as it is transferred to our opponent, eventually taking all financial support away from Tethe'alla Acadamy. I want the four of you to pose as students, Regal will be a school guard, and destroy her campaign from the inside. Make sure that she does not become the Student Body President. I know this is a lot to ask from all of you, but please….. You four are the ones I trust the most. Will you accept the mission? For the sake of our school?"

Silence reined the room for a long moment until the four answered in a unanimous chorus , "We accept, headmaster.

* * *

The chatter that filled the lunchroom was almost unbearable. Apparently, the entire female population had found out about Zelos's pending transfer out of the academy. The cafeteria was filled with shrieks and sobs as over a hundred girls wrestled their way to wish luck and offer their best wishes upon the young "player". Sheena looked on, with disgust in her sour expression; along with a very small group of girls that had also found this fangirl-ish scene quite repulsive.

Suddenly, her heart pounded. It was as if someone was calling out to her. Her head instinctively turned toward the window and her body followed. _The forest…the deep, dark forest. On the other side of that, Sylvarant exists..._, her mind wandered. She looked up to make sure no one was watching, and with a swift, graceful jump, she was on the ground outside of the window. She took one last look behind to make sure that no one had seen, and ran towards the dark trees answering to the beckoning calls of the mysterious person she couldn't identify...

* * *

**There you have it! I already have the outline of the third chapter ready so yeah...**

**Thank you for reading, and reviews are appreciated greatly!**


	3. The Forest that Divides

**Hey guys! It's me, again! I'm really really sorry about the really really late update but our family just moved recently and it's been hectic..**

**Plus... no internet. P Here's the third installment of this story! **

**Enjoy! Disclaimer: If I owned this game, would I even be on this website?  
**

* * *

The Forest That Divides

The eerie calmness of the forest gave Lloyd chills as he wandered through the tangle of bushes and brambles. He wasn't one to become frightened easily, but when

surrounded by the dark and sinister looking trees, he couldn't help but remind himself of the countless number of people who had wandered into the same forest and

never returned from it. He jumped as he heard a yelp from deep within the trees, and grabbed onto the nearest trunk, bawling. Lloyd wouldn't have been in this stupid,

creepy forest if there hadn't been a major accident on the road to the construction area where his father worked. The school was located on the outskirts of the town

and the only other way through was the thin path in the forest, alongside the road. It would have only taken ten minutes at most, but thanks to Lloyd's navigationally

impaired brain, he was completely separated from the path to his father. He slid down from the trunk of the tree and sat dejectedly on the mossy ground with his back

leaning on the rough bark.

"Oh man… I'll never make it out of here alive!" he cried out in frustration as he pounded the ground with a clenched fist. The moss held the imprint of his hand for a few

moments, slowly transforming back into its original state, as if he had never been there in the first place. Lloyd shivered, and shifted from his upright position to a

sloppy slouch. That might have been his only record of existence in that forest, and now it was gone as well. Just then his stomach grumbled. He groaned pitifully and

punched it to quell the angry demands of his internal organs.

"Someone…," he whimpered, "Anyone… HELP ME!"

Lloyd almost crapped in his pants when the bush next to tree rustled violently, revealing an amazingly beautiful girl with long, raven-like black hair that was tied up in a

spiky ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a white polo and red-plaid skirt, almost like a school uniform. She looked at him with warm yet piercing brown eyes and allowed

the silence between them to stretch. Lloyd took his time regulating his breathing and stared back at her with an equally piercing gaze.

Suddenly, as if just realizing he was there, the girl jumped back and took a defensive stance. She shot him a dagger-like look that would have cut him open had her

eyes been what they resembled.

"W-who are you? And what are you doing here…in this forest?" she inquired. Lloyd merely ogled at her like a dork, unable to make a sound. The quiet chirp of the forest resumed as the two faced off in a duel of the eyes. Finally, Lloyd opened his mouth to speak,

"I'm..." but he was interrupted by a loud growl, "hungry…," he ended with a wide grin as he clutched his stomach. The girl didn't seem to ease up at all from the tense stance she stood in. Heck, she didn't even giggle. _Yup…That's me…_ _Lloyd the ladies man…_, he grumbled in his mind. She stared at him with eyes that demanded to be answered.

"Well? Answer me! Who are you?" she retorted to his grinning face in an angry manner. For some reason, this only made Lloyd smile even wider. Without thinking he stood up so that he was face to face with her. His height difference seemed to make her draw back a bit, but she still stood firmly, watching his grinning figure.

"Hehe… You're kinda cute when you're angry…" he blurted, only furthering his own grin,

"W-w-what?!" she was blushing now.

_Wait… Did I just say that??…,_ Lloyd asked himself regretfully. The girl seemed so taken aback that she completely lost her hostile attitude and stared at him in wild confusion. Lloyd blushed madly and tried to regain himself.

"W-wait… What I-I meant was… What I meant wa-," Lloyd stammered, "I uh…" He was interrupted this time by a gunshot and shouting as both their heads turned in the direction of the sound.

"Wah… What was that?" he cried. The girl gasped and turned her head back from the dense forest to look at Lloyd desperately.

"It's the Desians!"

Lloyd's head turned around and mirrored the look of desperation and horror on her face.

"No way! You mean the gang? Why are they out on this side of the forest? Our town has a Non-Aggression Treaty with them!"

"How would I know?"

"I was just asking…."

The girl surveyed the forest quickly for an opening or hiding space. The gunshots were getting louder and they could hear the Desians shouting for reinforcements.  
She spotted a thin stream of life filtering in through a light patch of young trees. Her finger flew in that direction as she latched onto Lloyd's hand.

"There! There! I see light! Let's run through there!" she shouted as she took off. They flew through the forest as the girl dragged Lloyd through the bushes and trees. Her long upright ponytail tickled his face and his hand was suffocated in a vice grip between her palm and her long, slender fingers. For some reason, this thought made his heart pound rapidly as he shifted his eyes onto the back of the girls head. Why was it pounding so much? _Must be the Desians..._, he thought to himself as he allowed a glance at the two interlocked hands. _Yep…Definitely the Desians…_  
The patch of light grew closer as the two teenagers zoomed forward through the mossy forest. Just as they were about to charge out, the girl's foot was snagged on a stray root and she flew forward towards the tree. In a split second, Lloyd instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her closely to his chest and turned hastily so that his back would take the impact. The two both shrieked as the force of their weight caused the tree to shake violently back and forth, generously tossing its branches onto their defenseless bodies.

Lloyd groaned and opened his eyes to see the girl unconscious on his lap. _Uh-oh…..This is SO not my day…_, he grumbled in his mind as he slowly stood up with the unnamed girl still in his arms. He put one arm around her back and one under her knee, almost in a bridal fashion. _She would be a cute bride_, he fantasized, _Oh Martel… _

_What's wrong with me? I don't even this know this girl and we're lost in a forest with bloodthirsty gangsters…  
_With that, Lloyd dodged through the last remaining trees into the bright sun, arms tightly wrapped around this mysterious girl and his heart beating fast. He recognized the building to his right as one of the bakeries in town. Lloyd hurried over to nearest building, focusing on the girl's face with worry.

* * *

**And there it is! The Fourth Chapter might be late, just so you guys know... I'm having severe writer's block...**

**I know I made Lloyd into kind of an awkward dork... XP **

**But just for you Shelloyd fans (and me), the next two chapters are going to be Fluffy between them!**

**Stay in Tune!**


End file.
